Sleigh.



No. 874,750e PATENTEDDEG. 24, 1907.

-W. G. EDWARDS.

SLEIGH.

APPLIGATION FILED MAR, 25,1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

619i tn como f Icmmw No. 874.750. PATBNTBD M6524, 19o?.

W. G. EDWARDS.'

sLBIGH.

APPLICATION FILED MAE.25,1907.

a sHETefsHBBT a sw h1 ames 2f/MM f 1 Y Quemar vUNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE..

WELFO'RD c. EDWARDS, or PLAINvrEiv, MINNESOTA.

` SLEIGH.

No. lewiger).

specificati@ of Letters Patent..

Patented 24, 1907.

Application inea March a; 1907. serial No. 364.322

s To all whom it 'inavyfcoacern--- Be it .known that I, WELFonD-G: EDwAiaDs,

a citizen`of the VUnited States, residing kat VPlainview, in theicounty of Yabasha, State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and vuseful Improvements' in .Sleighs'r andl I do hereby declare the following to be -a full,

. clear, and. exact' description'of the invention,

such as will enable others ,skilledv in the'art -to .whichit appert'ains 'to make and use the' ln" connection with asleig'hofthe above type,'the' invention aims as a primary'object ThisinventiQn relatesto and usefulimprovements 1n sleighs, andhas particular.

reference to a sleigh embodying interconnected rearand front-sleds.

' to provide.novelyieldable connections-between the-front and rear sled, whereby the .20

A 'instead of the-casa latter will have a tendency to ride upwardly The mention aims-fas einem@ Object t@ 'provide-'a novel resilient connection' between the bodyiof'thefsleighand the sleds, whereby the' tendency-of the' latter to rock or swing. laterally is 'reduced to a minimum degree,

and .whereby the strain vu on the resilient connection elements'is -re uced to a minilnumdegree. y

The invention aims as a further object to provide in connection with the sleds embodied in the present invention, a novel v'ners andk the beams of such sleds.

invention air'nsas a further object to provide resilient connections between the mterconnected parts,l Whlch will serve to absorb and cushion the direct and reactionary I shocks'and vibrations incident to travel: 4'The-invention finally aims .to rovide a sleigh of theabove type which wi l be comp'aratively inexpensive to manufacture, si1n- 4le in construction and practical and efficient muse.v

`The detailed construction will appear in lthe-course of ,the following description, in `which reference is had to the accompany-v [ingpdrawings forming a part of this specification,- like characters of reference c lesignating similar parts throughout the several views, vwheij'eink-e- Figurel 1s a side `elevation of a slelgh con- .,sl-ructed accordance with the' present iii- 'v enition. Fig; 2 is a top) ends Q'fsjhsleighgth f 'addy thereof. beine to' dig downwardlyas is ordinarily.

plan view of theA removedp Fig. Sis a front plan view-of the .rear sled, the runners beingshownin. section. Fig. 4 is a similar view of' the'frontsled. Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section of a cushioningconnection between lsuch front beam and one ofthe runners. -Fig 6 is. an enlarged detailed perspective .view of a crank arm included i'n the connect,- ing means above.V referred .to together with .fragmentary illustrations of the associated parts of such \crank varms. The invention in ltsvprac'tical embodiment comprises a body 1, from which are support- .A

edA the front sled 2 and the rear sled 3. The

s ulpporting means of the front sled 2, includes a arge fifth wheel 4, whereby said front sled may beturned with relation tothe rear sled' and the body, direct lthe travel `ofthe sleigh.l T 1e sleds 2 and 3 are constituted of runners 5 carrying on their underneath surfaces the usual shoes '6. At the rear portions fof each of the, runners 5', are arranged vertically extending knee irons 7 which conjointlysupport transverse rear beams 8. The vrear ends with bearings 9, vwhich' afford journals for the central portions of crank arms 10, the

laterally extending portions o f which are disposed adjacent the top of the knee irons 7. T he lower movable meinberof the fifth W-heel ,beams S are provided adjacent their outer- 4 carries parallel cleats 11 and similar cleats 12 lare provided upon the rear portions of the body 1. Parallel leaf. springs 13 are fixed centrally thereof to the respective cleats 11 and 12, and the free ends of said leaf springs are bent to form sleeves 14, through which :the projecting-ends'of the crank arms 10. are

' beam 19`^`is reinforced by a coincident curved metallic back member'QO, through the projecting ends of which headed boltsl 21 are passed. lThe beam 19 is of-less Width than the distance between vthe runners 5 of the sled 3, 'andis connected to said runners by"the bolts 21, which include cushioning elements. To this end expansive coil springs 22.are in` ter OsedbetWeen the heads ofthe bol-ts 21 an the projecting ends ofthe back member 20. Nuts 23 are likewise interposed between said projecting ends and the runners 5. It

- Will thus be seen that the connection ai'orded by the bach member 20, the bolts 21 andthe springs 22,- lpermits of the front beam 19 yielding laterally on either side with relation to the runners 5. Such lateral yielding action is of advantage owing to the fact that the rear sled 3 isconnected to the front sled 2, and thatthe oscillation of the iront sled incident to travel, is taken up or absorbed by the front beam 19 Without being imparted to the rear sled3 as anentirety.

The connection between the front and rear sleds is illustrated in Fig. 5, and comprises a tubular member 24 havingsat its rear en'd vthe beam 19 oif the sled 3.

furcations 25, which at their ends are fixed to Within vthe member 24 is a `rod 25 terminating at its rear end in a head and at its front end in a hook 27. Surrounding the rod 25 is a thimble 28 which is threaded, asiat 29, upon the frontend oiv the member 24. An expansive coil spring i likewise surrounds the rod within the the beams 5,

member 24, and with one end 'bc-ars against the head 26 and with its other end bears against the thimble 28'. The hook 27 is en gaged with a similar hook or eye` 31carried centrally upon the rear face of the beam 8 of the front sled 2.'

The knee irons 7 abovevmentioned, are of inverted. ti-shape, and include depending divergent legs 32, terminating at their lower ends '1n angular apertured bifurcations 33,

Which are 'fixed to the runners 5 adjacent i thereto by fastening means 34. The turcan tions 33 are in fact extensions of the angular sides of the legs 32, the latter being bent into angle iron shape, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, in order that their structure may be strengthened. 'The legs 32 at their upper ends are` united. by an integral horizontal bridge Ipiece 35, to which is 'fixed a cap plate 36, having upstanding sides 37- which overlie the sides oi beams by 'fastening means 38.

The advantages set forthl in the preamble will be readily apparent from the foregoing description. The member 24 constitutes a short tongue between the sleds 2 and 3 and owing to its hinged connection with the sled l 2, serves to draw the rear sled from the nose of' the runners.

The tension is on the coil spring 30. and is absorbed. by such spring during the oscillations ofthe front sled. Then the front lsled oscillates` downwardly, itincreases the tension ofthe spring 30, and when it .oscillates upwardly, it releases such tension,

thus eliminating shocks and vibrationsin and which are fixed to said- Simfree riding over rough roads and aording a noiseless joint. in traveling in' deep snow, the drag of the rear sled is decreased owing to its tendency to climb on top of thesnow instead ofv digging into the same as previouslyl eX- plained.

' Another important feature of the inven tion resides in disposing the ends 'of the 'springs 13 in a plane coincidentwith the bridge piece of the knee -irons .7. Such ar. rangement reduces the tendency of the beams to rock back and forth and consequently re.- duces the strain upon the springs 13.

From-the foregoing description, it will be seen that simple and efficient means are provided'for4 accomplishing the objects of the invention, but While theelements herein..I

shown and described are well adapted to serve the functions ,set forth, it is obvious 'that various. minor changes may be madev in the proportionsf shapeand arrangement of the several parts, without departing from the spirit and sco e ofthe invention as defined in the appendec claims.

What is claimed is t.

1. in a sleigh, the combination with abody, a iront steering sled anda rear iixed sled, oli' a connection between said sleds com:

prising a tubular member xed to the rear,

sled, a member slidable. within said tubulaii tween the front ends of the runners oi .said

rear sled, a back-member fixed t0 said beam and having projecting ends, headed bolts, projected through said ends and through the ends oli-the runners ad jacent thereto, nuts on the outer ends oi' said bolts, expansive coil springs interposed between said .projecting ends and the headed ends of said bolts, and a connection between' said beam and-the front sled.

f .lu testimony whereof, I aillxmy signature,

.j in presence oi two witnesses.

wnL'roRD e, EnwARns.

:Witnesses:

i JAMES A. CARI-ini', v Nnrra GoRRnLL. 

